SAWGRASS – CATAWBA PATRIOT SOLDIER
The character of Sawgrass in All for Liberty is fictional, but based on the immense contributions of the Catawba Nation during the American Revolution.
Sawgrass is portrayed as a treasured friend and a set of “our eyes in the forest,” letting Captain Felder know movements of the British army and the King’s men, Loyalists or “Tories.” Sawgrass is expert as a quick-thinking patriot and in killing the enemy during a major attack on the Felder homestead.
The Catawba Nation was essential in the American victory for independence and a key asset in the Battle of Fort Moultrie in 1776 – they were known as sharp-shooting archers with blow guns and traps. The Catawba survive today. The Catawba tribal people have lived on their ancestral lands on the banks of the Catawba River in the area of South Carolina dating back at least 6,000 years.
FURTHER NOTE RE: Tribes of North America: Indigenous, annihilating wars and subsequent taking of slaves by tribes was a way of life on the North American continent. This type of slavery predates European colonization by thousands of years. Hundreds of tribes and a number of tribal nations regularly enslaved the losing tribe in a war. In some tribes a quarter of the population were slaves. Many tribes would sell their enemy slaves for trade goods. As of January, 2024, there are currently 574 federally recognized Indian tribes in the United States according to the annual list of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs.
JIM SAWGRASS portrayed Catawba scout, “Sawgrass “
Jim Sawgrass is a native Floridian and Muskogee descendant, but is a native American historian, who portrays a Catawba scout for the patriots in All for Liberty. He has vast knowledge about various Southeastern deep forest tribes of the United States. He has shared his skills and knowledge across the southeast for many decades to assemblies of all ages, performing at re-enactments, schools, churches, and libraries with his group, Deep Forest Historical Native American Program.